


UNDERARRANGE

by saturatedParadoxes



Category: Undertale
Genre: Autistic Papyrus, Pacifist Route, Undertale AU, boss monster Chara, underarrange
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-12
Updated: 2016-11-12
Packaged: 2018-08-30 13:23:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,980
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8534833
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/saturatedParadoxes/pseuds/saturatedParadoxes
Summary: *Stay PATIENT.*Your name is PAPYRUS. You have a ghost friend, her name is TORIEL.*And you're very DETERMINED to meet GASTER, and spare every monster.





	

You ran up the mountain, fear building in you, you didn't look back. You eventually found a hole, it was deep. Without a second thought, you threw yourself into it, and everything went black.

What's your name?

Toriel...?

No. No, that's wrong.

Papyrus?

Yes, that's right.

Your name is Papyrus.

You groaned as you sat up and rubbed at your head. You looked down.

"Golden flowers... They must have broken your fall."

You flinched and stood up, looking around. A young girl sat behind you, looking equally as confused as you. At least you thought she was confused, you weren't too good with faces. She had dark skin and a headscarf with golden flowers on it. She looked vaguely familiar.

"Who are you?" You managed out "I- Did I fall on you? I'm sorry if I did."

"I guess you could say that," she looked at the flowers "It's alright, don't worry about it." She stood and examined you.

You were silent.

"Maybe we should walk." She said quietly.

"Yeah." You nodded and began walking, with her following behind you.

"My name is Toriel. What's yours?"

"Papyrus..." You stopped dead at the sight of a flower with a face, it was a petunia, if you remembered correctly.

"What is that?" Toriel brought a hand to her mouth as it began speaking.

"Hiya! I'm Flowey! Flowey the Flower!" Its voice was scratchy "It's been a while since I've seen a human down here. You're new, aren'tcha?"

Papyrus hesitantly nodded and stepped towards it.

"Gosh, I suppose I'm gonna have to show you the ropes, huh?"

Papyrus nodded again.

"Welp," it said something under its breath before speaking again "Here we go!"

A heart rose from your chest, it was aqua in color, and floated in front of you. It was roughly the size of a baseball.

"This is your soul, the very culmination of your being." 

"Ohh!" Toriel said loudly, you turned to her, but she just nodded and pointed back to Flowey.

"I'll let ya in on a secret, buddy, your soul starts off pretty weak. But it can get stronger!"

Your eyes lit up and you nodded, and Flowey smiled. You liked seeing it smile! ... Maybe you should ask it if its okay with being called an it.

"All you need is some LOVE!" a ring of pellets formed "Move around, get as many as you can!"

The pellets scattered, and you ran your soul directly into them. Suddenly, everything hurt. Your knees shook and you fell down, pained tears now forming.

"You idiot!" It screamed as more pellets formed "I can't believe you, you ran right into them!"

"I..."

Flowey's smile began scaring you.

"In this world, it's kill or be killed!" It tilted its head "Die." 

Pellets surrounded your soul and began closing in, until a wisp of fire knocked the flower, sending it flying out of the dirt. The pain eased and Toriel gasped as a monster walked up to you.

"What a terrible being, torturing such a poor, innocent child." They shook their head and turned to you "Greetings, my child," they smiled warmly "I'm Chara, caretaker of the ruins."

"H... Hello." You said quietly.

"Mad!" Toriel exclaimed as she ran towards the tall monster "Mad, I missed you so much-"

"Please don't be scared, I'm not going to hurt you." Chara walked up to you, as if they didn't see Toriel "I promise."

"... Mad? Mad, please." She reached for the monsters clothes, but her hand phased through them "Oh, no."

You looked to Toriel and groaned sadly, to which Chara frowned.

"I understand, the first monster you met tried to hurt you... He did hurt you." They sighed "I'm sorry, my child."

Papyrus looked to them and smiled "N-No. It's okay." Toriel walked back to you and grabbed your hand.

"Ah, alright..." They smiled "Now, if you would," they held out their hand "Come with me?"

You smiled and grabbed their hand, Toriel clutched your hand and followed after. They entered a room with switches on the floor, let go, then turned to you with a smile.

"Now, you know these are the ruins, but I bet you didn't know that the ruins are filled with puzzles-"

"Puzzles??" You practically screamed as you bounced up and down.

"Yes, dear," they laughed "Puzzles. Ancient combinations of distractions and door-keys."

"I love puzzles!"

They smiled "Then this will be much easier to explain! Now," they walked over four of the switches, then pressed a switch on the wall, and the door opened "Do you understand this puzzle?"

"Yes." You walked over the switches and walked up to Chara and pressed the wall switch "Like that?"

"Very good!"

You and Chara happily talked about puzzles as you continued on, then came a spike puzzle that ran over some water.

"This one might be..." They turned to you and grabbed your hand "Follow me."

You followed excitedly, as Chara put their feet down onto the spikes, they retracted to let them pass.

"Wowie," you smiled "These puzzles are amazing!" 

Chara smiled and nodded "Now, I have a task for you..." They let go and turned to you "I need you to walk to the end of this room by yourself. Forgive me for this..." They said before walking away and to the end of the room, and you followed after them. 

When you reached the end, you peered behind a pillar and found the big monster. They smiled at you and came out.

"You found me..." They chuckled "There was a reason for that. To test your independence."

You nodded and smiled hopefully "And I passed?"

"Yes." They smiled "But... I have some business to attend to, and I have to leave you on your own."

"Oh," you frowned and nodded again "Okay."

"I'm very sorry," they patted you on the head "Would you stay here?"

"Yes." You smiled at them, then they said goodbye. You stayed next to the pillar, despite the complaints of Toriel.

"We need to walk! We can't just sit here." She groaned and paced "I'm sure Mad won't mind."

"Mad...?"

"... Chara." They sat next to you.

"If you want to walk, why don't you just go?"

"I've tried, I can't leave you."

"Oh..."

She sighed "Anyways... I don't think I've told you this, but I'm twelve. How old are you?"

"I'm fourteen."

Toriel stared, wide eyed, and her mouth slightly agape "You look twelve."

"I do?" You cocked your head and smiled, and Toriel nodded, returning the smile. The phone rang and you scrambled to answer it.

"Hello?" You practically screamed into the phone.

"Hello, Papyrus, it's Chara."

You smiled wide "Hi, Chara."

"For no particular reason, do you prefer chocolate or butterscotch?"

Toriel, who had been leaning in and listening, blurted out; "Butterscotch!"

You frowned and told Chara you had to think for a moment before turning to Toriel "Chara asked me."

"Oh, sorry, but tell them-" her smile faded and she looked sad "Sorry."

"What's wrong?"

"I just remembered, they can't see or hear me, and I can't touch anything except you." She rubbed at her arm "So I can't eat, and telling them my preference would be weird."

"Oh." You frowned and nodded "Okay," you went back to the call "Chocolate." 

"I like chocolate, too." Chara sounded happy! "Thank you. Bye-bye."

"Bye!"

Click.

Toriel had begun pacing in a circle.

"Toriel?"

She ignored you.

"I'm sorry that they can't see you. Or hear you."

She turned to you, and her brows were furrowed.

"Why can they see you, but not me? Why can't I..." Her eyebrows relaxed, and she frowned "Why can't I talk to them...?"

"I don't know. I'm sorry." You averted eye contact and mimicked her frown "It makes no sense."

"I just want to talk to them." Tears began welling in her eyes "Am I in hell? Is this a punishment, Papyrus?" She buried her face and slumped to the ground "I don't understand!"  
You scooted closer and patted her on the shoulder "There, there." You mumbled "I don't understand, either. But, I don't think this is hell. If it is, I'll tell you, okay?" 

She laughed and nodded "Thank you, Papyrus." She smiled at you. The phone rang again.

"Hello?"

"Greetings, dear, quick question... You do not dislike butterscotch, do you?"

"No, I like it." You smiled warmly.

"Ah, thank you..." They hummed "You have not left the room, have you?"

"No, m... Merr."

"Merr?"

"I don't know if you're a ma'am or a sir." You frowned "So I just..."

"Aww!" They said rather loudly "That's so cute, I love it!"

"... Really?"

"I'd love to called Merr."

"Okay!" You smiled wide as they said goodbye and hung up.

"You know, back when I was alive-" Toriel's smile quickly faded as pain resurfaced "Th-They'd... Never mind..."  
"What?" You sat up on your knees "You're alive now!"

"I know." She bit her lip "I'm so confused."

"About what?"

"I'm supposed to be dead. I'm supposed to be gone, so I can't-" she stopped herself and stood "I can't even die right!"

"T-Toriel, what are you talking about?"

"I'm supposed to be dead!" She yelled and walked to the exit of the room "We have to go. We have to find him! They're- they're playing a prank! A welcome back prank."  
You stood and walked to her "Chara said to stay." You said sadly.

"So? We have," she snatched your hand and drug you behind her "To go!"

"Toriel-"

"We have to find Mad and Dad and Sans!" She drug you through the door, and to a save point. You had ignored the previous one.  
"Save, we don't have Mad to protect us."  
You did as she instructed, despite the instructions being vague. You just have to touch it.  
You are filled with patience

"We have to find them all." She mumbled quietly. Your phone rang.

"Greetings, Papyrus, I'm done."

"Oh- I'm sorry, I left..."

"How far did you go?" Their voice sounded concerned, or maybe angry.

"Just the next room. I'm in the leaf pile." You sat next to the save point and glared at Toriel "I'm not going any farther."

"Ah, okay. I'm coming. See you there, dear."

"Okay, bye, Mad."

They didn't speak for a few seconds.

"Did you just call me... Mad...?"

"Yes, um," you frowned "Was that bad?"

"No, no... Would it make you happy, to call me your parent?"

"Very much!"

"... Then you may. Goodbye, my child." 

Click.

"I'm not moving." You crossed your arms and looked at the save point, it glows like a real star.

"Papyrus!"  
"Chara said to stay. We moved too far already." You brought your legs to your torso and crumpled up a red leaf. Toriel nodded and sat next to you, looking angry.

"But after they come to get us, we need to find Dad and Sans."

You nodded and looked down. The leaves were various shades of red, some were brown. A bright blue flower pushed through the leaves, you recognized it as Flowey.

"Hiya, buddy! Sorry about that rough start," he smiled up at you as you scooted away "I forget that humans are fragile. So, what's your name, friend?" You looked to Toriel, who was frowning.

"Papyrus."

"As in the font? Or the paper?"

"The font...?" You furrowed your brows "Yeah, the font."

"Neat! You know, skeletons usually name their kids after fonts. The king is a skeleton."  
"Skeleton?" You sat on your knees and tilted your head.

"Yep, his name is Wingin Gaster." Flowey tilted his head "As in Wingdings and Aster."

"Oh!"

"He had a son, you know?" As he said that, Chara came into the room, and he retreated.

"Greetings, Papyrus." They said as they approached "Are you alright? Was that flower bothering you again?"

"No, he was telling me about skeletons!" You stood and smiled wide "I didn't know that they were named after fonts."

"Oh, yes, they are." Chara nodded.

"Or that the king is one," when you said that, Chara frowned "He sounds friendly."

"Yes... I suppose so." They looked away "Now, come. I have a surprise for you." You grabbed their hand and followed, and Toriel grabbed your other hand.  
"He also said that the king had a son. Is he nice, too? What's his name?"  
Chara slowed down and grabbed your hand tighter "My child, there's something I must discuss with you at home."

It didn't take long to get home, when you entered, Toriel grabbed you tighter. 

"Do you smell that?" They turned to you with a gentle smile "Surprise, its a chocolate-butterscotch pie. And one more thing," they grabbed your hand and lead you down the hallway, and to the first door "Your very own room." Your eyes went wide as they guided you in. The walls were a light lavender, and drawings hung on the wall, as if this room belonged to another child.  
"Now, remember earlier, when I said we had something to discuss?" You nodded "The king... Gaster, he isn't a good monster. He vowed to kill any human that falls down here."

You frowned and let go of their hand "Why?"

"Well... I used to be his partner." Chara kneeled and looked to their paws "We were married, and when we married, he had a small child named Sans." You nodded and grabbed their hands "He was like my own. I saw him as my son, and he saw me as his parent. He was a gentle and sensitive child, and one day, a human fell down here."

"... And Gaster...?"

"This was before he was merciless to humans." Chara smiled gently "Her name was Toriel, she was quiet and sweet." Your eyes widened and you grabbed Toriel's hand tighter "Sans and her grew to be like siblings, but... They're gone now."  
You looked to Toriel, who had buried her face into her knees. 

"But it's okay. You must be tired," they stood and patted you on the head "Tell me if you need anything."  
"Okay, good night," you smiled and grabbed their big hand "I love you."  
They paused and smiled "I love you, too." After they left, you told Toriel good night and laid down.  
When you woke up, Toriel was curled up at the end of the bed, and there was a slice of chocolate-butterscotch on a plate on the floor. Toriel stirred and smacked her lips.

"Papyrus?"

"Hm?" You stood and turned to her.

"Mornin'..." She yawned and sat up "Did you sleep okay?"

"Yes." You picked up the pie and inspected it, and Toriel followed you.

"Chocolate-butterscotch pie. It's made with love!" She smiled "... And chocolate." When you went to eat it, she stopped you "Maybe you should save it for later. You need to talk to Mad."

"About what?"

She crossed her arms "I don't know, we still need to find Sans and Dad, so maybe we should ask them about that."

"Wait, you were their kid, right?"

"I am their kid!" Toriel screamed as she moved towards you "I may be dead, but that doesn't change anything! They're my parent." She crossed her arms and glared daggers into you.

"I- I'm sorry." You backed away "I didn't mean to do something bad," she walked closer "Please don't hurt me!" You screamed as you scrambled away from her. Her anger faded.

"I'm not... Hold on, I know what's going on. Humans hurt you, and you couldn't take it anymore, right?" You nodded hesitantly "... Yeah, I know how that feels. I'm sorry for getting angry."  
"It's fine." You mumbled.

"Wanna go talk to Mad?"

You nodded and went for the door, and left with Toriel following you. When you entered the living room, Chara was standing.

"O-oh, Papyrus, are you okay? I was about to come and check on you."

"Fine." You smiled, but they still stared at you "Why do you ask...?"

"I heard you yelling." They said with a frown "Did you have a nightmare?" You nod "Do you want to talk about it?"

"I can't remember it." You smiled and decided to explore the home.  
It was relatively large, big enough for a family. You found a pie in the kitchen.

"Chocolate-butterscotch pie." Toriel said as you backed away "It's much too large for you to even think about eating." You smile her way and run off to look at the flowers on the table.  
"... Petunias. They don't taste good, not at all." You giggled at the statement and moved on.

"So, for sure, Flowey is a petunia?"

"Yes." She nodded as you opened a drawer "Oh, there's some broken crayons and flower seeds." You shut it and moved to the door on the left-hand side, as you attempted to enter, Toriel stopped you "That's Mad's room. Don't invade their privacy, Papyrus."  
"Oh," you nodded and examined a flower pot of petunias and golden flowers.  
"Petunias and buttercups." Was all she had to say on the matter. The next door was locked, but next to it was a mirror.

"It's you!" Toriel pointed and smiled. Of course, she didn't show up in the mirror. You left and kept looking, there was a calendar in another drawer.

"A calendar from 201X." She said in mild surprise, on the top was a photo of two children, one was clearly Toriel, and the other a skeleton.

"... Me and my brother." She said silently "Can we move on?" You nodded and went to the next drawer "Full of discarded bones and scraps of fabric."  
You went back to the mirror.

"Still just you, Papyrus." You smiled and went back to Chara.

"Hello, Papyrus." They smiled as they looked up from their book "Is there something you needed?" You asked about their book "Oh, this? It's Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto. Do you want to hear a part from it?" You nod and sit on the floor in front of them "I see two lovers peering over the cauldron of hell. Do they both wish for death?" You grabbed Toriel's hand as she sat "That means their love will end in hell."  
You stood back up and continued exploring. You went back to your room and dug through the toy bin.

"Look at all these cool toys!" You picked up a plastic knight "The action figures are your favorite." You sat the knight down carefully and dug through your drawers.  
"It's full of old sweaters and scarves." You shut it and looked at the framed photo, it was of Toriel and the young skeleton, who you assumed to be Sans, they were playing.

"... An old photo." She said with a sad face. You looked to her and grabbed her hand.

"Let's go ask about Dad and Sans." You smiled and led her away from the photo. She followed quietly.  
"Hello, my child," Chara smiled as you patted their knee "Was there something you needed?"  
"Can I go meet Sans?" You asked.

"Oh," they frowned "Dear, when I said that Sans and Toriel were gone... I meant that they had died. You cannot meet them."

"But..." You looked to Toriel, who shook her head "Can I meet Gaster?"

Chara was taken aback "Why? I told you, he kills humans."

"Maybe I can change his mind about humans, and we can be friends." You said hopefully "I like making friends."

"Child. Gaster will kill you, he will not change." They said, then sighed "I've tried..."

"Tried what?"

"Never mind that. You are not going to Gaster." 

You sat on your knees and looked down, then patted them on the knee again.

"Hm?"

"I want to meet him." You said, your mind had been made, you were meeting him.

"No. You aren't meeting him." They frowned and went back to their book.

"Papyrus, they're not gonna let you go." Toriel said as you stood and walked away from them.  
"Then I'm leaving on my own. How do you get out of the ruins?"

"Oh," Toriel frowned and pointed to a staircase "That way." You walked down the stairs and into the hall, halfway down, Chara came.

"You aren't supposed to be down here." They said angrily as they grabbed your hand and led you back upstairs. They took you to your room and left.

"... They're not going to let you leave." Toriel said quietly "Trust me."

"Then... Then I'll just ask them to let me go!"

"Papyrus-"

But it was too late to reason. You were already halfway to Chara. You approached them and patted their knee.

"Oh, yes?"

"I want to leave the ruins."  
Chara sighed and stood, telling you to stay where you were. But you followed. 

"I told you to stay there." 

"I don't want to stay there."

"Don't you know what will happen if Gaster kills you?"

"I'll die."

"And then...?"

"I'll be gone."

Chara stopped and lowered their head.

"He will have seven souls. He will be able to break the barrier."

"That's good!"

"And then, he will wage war on humans. He will try to kill any human he can."

"But..." You followed "What if I broke it on my own?"

"He would still try to destroy humans."

You were now at what you assumed to be the exit.

"Please... Just go back upstairs."

"No! I want to change his mind!"

"You really want to go so badly?" Their body tensed "... Hmph. You are just like all the others."

The others?

"If you want to leave so badly, then prove to me. Prove to me you are strong enough to survive!" 

Your aqua soul rose from it's place in your chest as Chara turned to you. You turned to Toriel in confusion. 

"They know what's best for you." Was all she offered.

You instinctively guided your soul away from fire, and Chara paused to give you a chance at an attack.

"I don't want to fight!"  
Chara was silent. More fire spun around you. As you continued to spare, Chara grew more reluctant to fight.

"... Please, just go back upstairs."

You approached them.

"We can have a a nice life here."

You held your hand out to them.

"So please..."

Your soul returned to your chest.

"Please..."

You lowered your hand.

"Just go back upstairs." 

They weren't attacking.

"We can be happy here..."

You smiled "I promise I'll come back."

They smiled back.

"No... That'd be too dangerous."

"Then..." You thought for a moment "Then I'll free you all!"

Chara's eyes lit up with... Something. They chuckled and nodded, tears forming in their eyes.

"... Okay. I will let you go, but know that you cannot return." Chara knelt down, tears now tinting their white fur grey "I love you, my child." They said softly as they wrapped their arks around you.

You felt Toriel wrap her arms around you, and you returned the hug to Chara. After a moment, they let go, and Chara left. You heard them stop, then continue.

"So...?" Toriel prompted.

"Let's go." You sighed and exited the ruins, and began walking down a purple tinted hallway. In front of the second door, Flowey sprouted.

"Clever." He looked unimpressed "Very clever. You must feel really good, huh, pal?"

"What...?"

"So, you didn't kill them. At least, not yet." He smiled "In fact, you haven't killed anyone!"

"Why would I kill someone?" You frowned and fidgeted with your scarf.

"Why anyone would; self defense, or the heck of it!" You gasped at the very notion of killing for "the heck of it", which made Flowey chuckle "I get it, you don't think killing is good. But what if you run into a merciless killer? You'll die, and you'll die, and you'll die."

Toriel grabbed your hand.

"What will you do then, pal? Will you continue sparing?" He smiled and tilted his head "Will you kill out of frustration?"

"No!" You blurted.

"Heh. Sure, kid." Was all he said before digging back into the ground.


End file.
